Shirin wins bronze medal in Confectionery and Patisserie at the WorldSkills UK National Finals.

The Manchester College student Shirin Asl impressed the judges at the UK’s largest technical skills competition. 

College student Shirin Asl has claimed bronze in the prestigious Confectionery and Patisserie WorldSkills UK national finals.

The finals, which this year were held across Greater Manchester including 19 competitions at the College’s City Campus Manchester, saw students from across the country competing against each other to showcase their technical skills excellence. 

Bronze medal winner Shirin, and fellow College student Ana, competed in the Confectionery and Patisserie National Finals, which were amongst those hosted in the College’s state-of-the-art facilities at City Campus Manchester. During the two-day competition the two students tested their skills and demonstrated their craftsmanship and creativity.

The first day of the event lasted eight hours and tasked the students with creating a spectacular chocolate showpiece, two distinct sugar paste models and twelve chocolate snack bars. On day two, the competitors had just six hours to make gâteau St. Honoré, pulled sugar decorations and an afternoon tea consisting of three types of treats.

Shirin’s delicious and visually spectacular sweets earnt her a bronze medal. Ana also had a great performance, creating intricate pulled sugar models and a mouth-watering selection of treats for the afternoon tea challenge.

Howard Wallace, Departmental Team Leader for Hospitality, Travel and Tourism, commented: “Before her WorldSkills UK training, Shirin had never worked with pulled sugar or made a chocolate showpiece and as such we could not be prouder of her bronze medal success.

“Both Shirin and Ana can be exceptionally proud of their achievements in the finals as they excelled in the competition, standing out as being amongst some of the country’s hottest up and coming talent in this sector. Everyone one at the College would like to congratulate them on their success.”  

Both Ana and Shirin completed challenges in the entry stage and the national qualifiers to gain entry to the finals, receiving exemplary scores in the national qualifiers and confirming them as two of the top eight confectionery and patisserie students in the country. 

The Confectionery and Patisserie final was just one of the competitions held at City Campus Manchester. The Manchester College also hosted 3D Digital Game Art, Graphic Design, Restaurant Service and Website Development and more. We also welcomed industry leaders and experts for the event’s business brunch.

This year, over 400 students attended the WorldSkills UK National Finals. The WorldSkills UK programme was designed by industry experts to develop students' technical and employability skills. 

Find out more about the Confectionery and Patisserie courses available at The Manchester College and apply now.